Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
With the season-opening Bahrain Gulf Air Grand Prix behind us, attention now to turns to the Imola race – next on the F1 calendar, writes Naman Arora.
Although Mercedes emerged triumphant during the season-opener, Red Bull has shown that they have a faster car, and two very capable drivers in the seat.
This marks a significant shift away from the ‘Verstappen-first’ strategy they have employed in recent years.
The Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari, known most popularly as Imola, has gained an infamous reputation for being the site of racing legend Ayrton Senna’s crash and death in 1994.
Racing at Imola stopped in 2006 when the last San Marino Grand Prix was won by Michael Schumacher, but the Covid era of racing has breathed new life into the circuit.
Last year, in November, the circuit saw Mercedes crowned as constructor champions while Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas topped the race.
This year, with the race scheduled on April 18, the standings are still wide open.
In Formula 2, Guanyu Zhou will lead the pack of potential F1 drivers as they start their second race weekend in Monaco on May 20.
At the BIC last weekend, Zhou powered to a fine victory in the third race of F2’s season-opening round. The Uni-Virtuosi driver started from pole alongside Christian Lundgaard, but at turn one Lundgaard pulled ahead.
Zhou battled until lap 27, when the Chinese driver reclaimed the lead from Richard Verschoor of MP Motorsport, claiming the chequered flag after 32 laps in a winning time of one hour two minutes 27.858 seconds.
2021 F1 calendar
n 2 Emilia Romagna GP
April 18
Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari, Imola, Italy
n 3 Portuguese GP
May 2
Autódromo Internacional do Algarve, Portimao
n 4 Spanish GP (TBC)
May 9
Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona
n 5 Monaco GP
May 23
Monte Carlo/ Circuit de Monaco
n 6 Azerbaijan GP
June 6
Baku City Circuit, Baku
n 7 Canadian GP
June 13
Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montréal
n 8 French GP
June 27
Circuit Paul Ricard, Le Castellet
n 9 Austrian GP
July 4
Red Bull Ring, Spielberg
n 10 British GP
July 18
Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone
n 11 Hungarian GP
August 1
Hungaroring, Budapest
n 12 Belgian GP
August 29
Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot
n 13 Dutch GP
September 5
Circuit Zandvoort, Zandvoort
n 14 Italian GP
September 12
Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza
n 15 Russian GP
September 26
Sochi Autodrom, Sochi
n 16 Singapore GP
October 3
Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore
n 17 Japanese GP
October 10
Suzuka International Racing Course, Suzuka
n 18 United States GP
October 24
Circuit of the Americas, Austin
n 19 Mexican GP
October 31
Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City
n 20 Brazilian GP
November 7
Autódromo José Carlos Pace/ Interlagos, São Paulo
n 21 Australian GP
November 21
Melbourne Park Circuit, Melbourne
n 22 Saudi Arabian GP
December 5
Jeddah Street Circuit
n 23 Abu Dhabi GP
December 12
Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi
